Together in Nights and Stolen Moments
by AllHallowsTheLess
Summary: Edilio and Rodger. Just a collection of one-shots that roam into the chaos of my mind. Hope you enjoy :)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Okay, so I love these two. They are perfect. So I decided to write a little something about them...Maybe there will be more, maybe not, but I guess I'll see in time, right?**

**I don't own any of the characters I use in my writing.**

* * *

Sources of happiness in the FAYZ were few and far between. After all, it was hard _not _to be sullen when you could see no possible way for things ever to be normal again; everyone alive in the FAYZ who could think for themselves had figured out by now—even if they were suppressing it, hiding it from themselves—that there weren't many happy endings to be had when—if—the FAYZ ended.

Even still, they _did_ linger—ways to be happy, that is-, and could be found, depending on the person who was looking. And where—and in who, maybe—they were looking.

_"You don't understand a damned thing, Edilio; you don't have anyone, you don't have anyone you need or love or care about, it's just you."_

He let the words float in his head a bit. Of course, the moment the words had come from the other boys lips, Edilio had wanted to yell '_I have Rodger. I have Rodger. You don't notice anything but what happens with you, Sam, but I have Rodger.' _Sam knew now, of course, after the lapse of control on the dock, but it was probably better that way, wasn't it? Everything in the open. Secrets tore society and peace apart. Not that love was much of a secret when you looked for it; love took away all sense of wrong or shame or fear. And after all the not-so-subtly exchanged glances between the two, how hadn't anyone else noticed?

Now, after the battle, there was still the looming threat of Diana and Caine's child, but there had been a calm to the night's air, a message telling Edilio to relax, whether it was the intelligent choice or not, that brought Edilio and Rodger to the place they lay now. The small field was concealed by a number of towering trees, the tops opening high above so that the stars peeked through the silent leaves. Unafraid of being caught, hands clasped, they lay on their sides facing one another.

Edilio looked at Rodger. The boys eyes were closed, a smile playing on his lips, almost as if he could feel Edilio's gaze on him. His hair fell onto his face, leaving shadows beneath the fallen strands. Edilio smiled at the sight. "This is nice," the previously smiling lips of Rodger said. "It's something I could get used to, you know? Not having to hide. It's nice."

Edilio thought that for a moment. It _was_ nice, but he knew it would be a rarity, if it even happened again. This sort of luxury wouldn't be available all the time if he was going to have to be Edilio, Sam's Right Hand Man, the most "sane" out of everyone left(he wasn't even sure of that himself, though, so how could they be sure of it?). He listened to the nights sounds a few seconds longer before responding. "You know it won't last, though. Not with Diana and…And that child of hers. Not with the FAYZ wall being clear now and things being put into motion. This "calm after the storm" isn't going to last." Edilio's words dampened the mood, but he was only saying what they both knew to be the truth.

Rodger opened his eyes and looked up at the older boy. "I know. But I like to live where I am, when I am. It makes things a little easier on the brain." He smiled and shrugged. "But…so does this."

Before Edilio could ask just what _this_ was, Rodger had closed the space between their bodies and pressed his lips to the unsuspecting Edilio's. He let all thoughts of what might become of the future fall out of his head, engulfing himself in the feeling of Rodger's arms encircling him. And while the ever-changing, ever-problem-making FAYZ still surrounded them, it didn't matter; _perfection_ was what the moment was, and however had to find it was in their world, they had it in that moment.

After the kiss ended, Edilio hugged Rodger's body to his own. The heat from both of their bodies radiated and multiplied as they lay together, the night air caressing them. Before his eyes drifted shut, smiling into Rodger's hair, Edilio had one last waking thought :_ Yes_, _this may be only for tonight, but I could get used to it._


	2. Chapter 2

"Sam, that won't work." Edilio's head was throbbing. They—Dekka, Sam, Brianna, Astrid, and Edilio—had been closed into the boat house for hours. At least, that's what it seemed like to Edilio. He sighed, rubbing his temples. "That plan has so many flaws that it will do more harm than it will good."

"Then what do you suggest, Edilio? I don't see you coming up with any brilliant ideas."

Astrid put an arm on Sam's shoulder. "Stop it. I think we all need to take a break. We can talk again tomorrow."

The group murmured their consent and the screech of chairs filled the room. Edilio sat for a moment, contemplating, then he stood with the others and waited by the door.

Astrid was the only person left in the room when Edilio decided to exit. She smiled at him. "Hey. How have you been doing?" Small talk was virtually meaningless, but Edilio could see the thought in what she was attempting.

Edilio shrugged. "I guess I'm fine. I'm better than Sam, at least. He's having a rough time. But you know that."

The blonde girl pursed her lips and nodded, taking a deep breath and walking in step with Edilio. "Yeah. He hates having to be in control, having to make the decisions. I kept reminding him that it's not all on his shoulders, but…You know how little he likes to listen to other people when it's not what he thinks."

"Yeah. So where are you headed? Don't you and Sam usually…stay in the boathouse?" They'd been doing a lot more than just 'staying' in the boathouse, but now really wasn't the time to mention their activities and how disturbing they could potentially be to the rest of the residents. It was rare to have a nice, calm chat with New Astrid, and Edilio wasn't going to mess it up by mentioning stupid views.

"I was just going for a walk, actually. Sam needs time to cool down from the meeting."

Listening to the matching foot-steps of Astrid and himself and the quiet mingling, Edilio knew how that was. When they were discussing, Edilio always felt a bit over-whelmed. It was like he couldn't decide on if he wanted to help or not, if he should just leave the others to make the grown-up decisions alone and have a day off. He knew he couldn't, though, so he stayed with what he knew. He would try to be a good friend and shoulder to Sam for as long as he could.

Astrid and Edilio were nearing the camper where Edilio and Rodger stayed. He smiled at Astrid, sticking his hands in his pockets and excusing himself. "Have a good night, Astrid," he said, as he walked up the steps and entered the house, not waiting for her to respond.

Rodger was asleep in the chair near the channel-less TV set. He was curled into the fetal position, a thin brown blanket spread over his body. His thin hair was spread across his face, almost tickling his nose. Edilio felt a smile spread on his own. He grabbed a warmer blanket from the matching chair next to the sleeping boy and placed it over the sleeping boy. After a few moments of further contemplation, Edilio leaned down and kissed the boys lips lightly. He smiled to himself again, turning on his heel to go to the bedroom in the back, when he heard a sharp intake of breath.

"Edilio? Is it you?" Rodger's sleep filled voice took away Edilio's volition to turn around. The previously sleeping boy's half-lidded eyes searched through the dark until they met Edilio's.

"Yes," Edilio responded. "It's me."

Rodger closed his eyes and smiled, stretching his arms in an arch. "Did you kiss me? While I was sleeping?" Keeping his eyes closed, he nestled in again, the smile still in place.

Edilio felt his smile grow wider. "Maybe."

"Can you do it again?" His smile turned teasing, whether he knew it or not. Edilio could hear the sleep creeping into his voice again.

The elder boy only laughed to himself. "You're asleep. Go back to sleep." Only Edilio didn't want him to go to sleep, not really. He wanted to ask him to bed with him, so that he could hold him and kiss him and watch his breath leave and enter his body. But he knew that people who weren't Edilio needed sleep, that maybe he needed it himself, that he wouldn't get any. He wanted Rodger to help him through the hours that would instead be spent sorting through jumbled messes of thoughts and plans and ideas that could never work, but had to be tried. But Edilio only did what he did best; he put Rodger ahead of himself and let him sleep, instead of doing what Edilio wanted to.

"But, Edilio, I'm not…tired…" Edilio waited for further protest, and when it was absent and he could hear the steady breathing of the boy he lived with, his only thought was, _If only you knew._ _If only you knew the effect you have on me._ He shook his head, knowing that he shouldn't wake Rodger again, and headed back into the plaid-sheeted bedroom to lay awake until the dawn.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Oi. Oi oi oi. I felt like writing today, I guess, and this is the product. It sets place when the club is still open, so is it, like, Hunger? I'm not sure, but I asked a friend for a prompt and her exact wording was this: "New Years Eve midnight kiss being the first kiss between your choice of OTP. The more awkward the better." So, without further adieu, Rodger and Edilio :)**

**Also, I should squeeze in here or there that I don't own the characters. I really should make a habit of including that...**

The world was in a fog for Rodger. His eyesight was shielded by a veil of shots and a half a bottle of whiskey. His legs were like water, unreliable and unusable. The room around him was pulsing with voices and movements and dancing. The club was alive.

Rodger knew, somewhere in his subconscious, that if Sam knew that someone had made alcohol available to the clubbers, he'd shut it down immediately. Albert was dancing on thin ice with the club as it was. He snickered to himself at the thought of Albert falling dancing. It was a good thing Sam never came to the club; Rodger only wanted to do this once, really—and he was already feeling bad about his poor decisions—and what a buzz kill it would be if _this_ was the night he'd finally get a clue to the true happenings of the club.

Rodger moved on from the beverage-distributing Howard (of course), to staggering his way to the dance floor. It had been too long in the FAYZ, he thinks. There'd been too much stress. Too much to deal with. And it was New Years Eve, so why _not_ let himself go? Didn't he deserve that much? He thought so.

He stood amongst the crowd, not thinking about how people were looking at him, not caring about whether or not he was dancing well or who saw him. They were all there to let go, too. They were no different than he, so he knew they wouldn't judge him.

After a few minutes of moving his hips to the thrumming music, a certain dark-haired fellow caught his eye. In fact, this head was all he thought about. More accurately, though, the person attached to said head. The body was long and lean, strong legs leading into a skinny-yet-attractively built torso. The body had nothing on the face, though, that sat just beneath the hair. Dark eyes, holding the full weight of the FAYZ, of decisions that the boy shouldn't have had to make, of what could have—_should_ have been, really, sat above a pointed nose. Tanned, smooth, flawless skin, a sign of his foreign lineage. His lips, pink and plump, the likes of which Rodger would love to taste…

He wouldn't let himself walk to the other boy in his sober state. Never in his life. Edilio was important; Rodger was a nobody. Edilio made decisions; Rodger watched idly from the sidelines. Edilio mattered in the FAYZ; Rodger didn't.

But, as it is, Rodger was drunk. He made his way to Edilio, crowd-weaving as effectively as he could. When he reached the other boy, Edilio smiled at him politely. "Hello, Rodger. What are you doing here?" If Rodger had been sober, he might have detected the slightly worried look that settled in Edilio's eyes. As it was, he didn't.

"Jus' havin' a goooooooood time, 'Dilio. What're you doin' here?" He grinned like an idiot, not realizing that, perhaps, his impaired speaking skills would set the other boy off to the fact that he'd been drinking. That is, if Edilio could've gotten past the fact that the stink radiating from Rodger's mouth.

Edilio gave him a weird look, a question playing in his eyes. "You've been drinking." It was a statement. Edilio sighed, casting his eyes to the floor and shaking his head a bit. "I guess I'll have to report this to Sam," he murmured quietly. Rodger heard, though, and threw himself onto the older boy.

"You can't!" Rodger cried. "You can't tell Sam! You can't get Howard in trouble!" Edilio didn't look surprised that Howard was the culprit. "We have to make livings, too! It isn't Howard's fault he chose a shitty one!" He shook Edilio once, then whimpered. "Don't tell Sam, 'Dili."

After drawing a long breath and studying the younger boy, Edilio agreed. "Alright. I won't tell him. Tonight, anyway. If I catch you drunk again…" His threat hung unspoken in the air between them.

Again, Rodger threw himself on the other boy. This time, though, their lips crashed together. It was sloppy, spitty, tasting of alcohol, and, overall, horrible, but when Edilio pulled away, Rodger was just about back to normal.

"Oh, Christ Christ Christ Christ. I'm-I'm so, so sorry, Edilio. Ohmigod I am sosorry I'msorry I'msorry I'msorry." A deep blush spread across his cheeks. He looked down. "I'm sorry."

Edilio, however, looked like he'd had a few drinks. He was flushed as well, though not because of embarrassment. "Rodger."

"I don't know what I was thinking, Edilio, and I—"

"Rodg—"

"—wasn't planning to, I swear, I just—"

"Rodger, I—"

"—got caught up in the moment and—"

Edilio finally shut the shorter boy up by pressing their lips together. It was shorter than their first kiss, but it was fiery and needy, Edilio pressing their bodies together as Rodger wound his arms around the older boy's waist. When Edilio pulled away for a moment, keeping his face so close that he could still smell the alcohol on Rodger's breath and their foreheads pressed together, Rodger asked, "So…You're not mad?"

Edilio let out a short laugh, then kissed the smaller boy chastely. "Does it feel like I'm mad?"

Rodger blushed again, turning his head to the side and swaying to the background music slightly. "No, I guess not."

Suddenly, though, it hit Rodger: They were in a public place. Edilio was someone, and a someone with a lot of already stressful roles. How would people take to the news that Edilio was kissing someone? And a _boy_ someone, at that? He drew himself away. "Edilio," he said, "I don't think it's a very good idea for us to be—doing this—in such a public place."

Edilio looked hurt, and Rodger struggled to show his point. "Not that, you know, hah, I mind, uh, kissing you, 'cause trust me, I really don't, but people like, uh, us, aren't really…"

"Accepted. I get it, Rodger." Edilio smirked a bit, nodding his head to the door. "Whataya say we find somewhere less public, then?"

With that, Edilio took Rodger's hand, stealing a small kiss from the other boy—because, come on, what was one more?—as they walked out the door. In the back of his mind, Rodger duly noted the DJ's voice announcing midnight.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I don't know what it is with me and Rodilio being nearly asleep, but I guess I like it, because here's a little thingy.**

**I don't own the supremely adorable Rodger or the sexy-ass Edilio (because I think we've all fantasized about his butt, be honest), nor do I bare any part of the Gone books, for those are the magnificently maleficent works of Michael Grant.**

Edilio woke with his arm around something warm.

Something warm…and something that was breathing evenly, softly. In and out, in and out, in rhythmic little segments that were synonymous to words like peace and content and trust. He could feel the morning light against his gently closed eyelids. The heat reminded him of days back in his home with his family, the squeals of laughter that were elicited from his siblings in the early morning. His silent nostalgia for his family, his home, no matter the condition of it, was nearly unbearable.

Of course, Edilio thought, there was the warm-something that lay over his arm. That was the something that put the nearly in front of the unbearable, that put the slight glimmer of a word he used to know the meaning of, the word happy, back in his mind, back with some kind of faint understanding.

Rodger.

The boy, with his light brown hair and kind smile, heart, and soul, was his sole-provider of happiness. When the weight of Sam's orders were on his shoulders, his only consoling thought was that after the day was through, he could go and rest and be with Rodger, who he knew would find some way or another to make him laugh a little. Rodger's presence never failed to lighten his spirits, to make him slip out from under the burden, if it was only for a few hours.

The other company they had in the FAYZ had often spread whispers of things that, when they came to Edilio or Rodger's ears, made it sound too much like Edilio was the only one in the FAYZ who hadn't completely lost it. They made it sound like Edilio was the only one who still had enough common sense to make decisions like he had been, as Sam's right hand man, as he'd been dubbed. Edilio often thought on those murmurs and figured that, if he was without Rodger, he wouldn't be there at all; Rodger never failed to save him in more ways than one.

He didn't like to think back on those nights too much, the times that he'd sit in a corner with his hands covering his face, over-whelmed by his own mind, swallowed by his own thoughts that plagued him like nothing else he'd ever known. When he did, though, he found himself remembering only the feel of Rodger's arms, the younger boy rocking him back and forth, a calm, steady hand gliding along his back, smoothing his hair, warm lips caressing the side of his face. Thinking on those awful nights had been what led him to the conclusion that Rodger was the only sane person he knew; Rodger kept him together, kept everyone who cared to know him together, even if he wasn't trying to achieve it. He was, and Rodger would have laughed at the analogy, Edilio thought, like a mothers heartbeat to a child in the womb; something secure to rely on and know that, no matter what, it would be there, without a doubt.

With a sigh, Edilio opened his sleep-crusted eyes, snuggling closer to the boy next to him, relishing the feeling of Rodger's warm pajamas chaffing against his arms. He felt, more so than heard, Rodger intake a short breath. "Edilio?" came his sleep-filled voice. He stretched his feet out towards the end of the bed, pulling the tangled bed sheets with him as he brought his hands against Edilio's arm.

Edilio kissed the back of Rodger's neck slowly, softly. It was a reassurance in itself, but he responded with, "Right here, babe," and squeezed Rodger closer to his body.

He heard Rodger let go of the breath in his lungs. "Good," he sighed quietly, relieved. "Good."

Edilio felt his face scrunch. Why would he be relieved that Edilio was still there? Didn't he know by now that Edilio wouldn't leave him? "What, you thought I'd leave?" He let out a short, nervous laugh, nuzzling his face into the crook of Rodger's neck. "I couldn't leave if I wanted to, Rodger."

Rodger turned his head around a little, looking at Edilio, revealing the light blush that had spread across his cheeks at the comment, at the embarrassingly true accusation. "No, I just…" he trailed off, but Edilio knew what he meant.

"…You just figured that everything else is going wrong, so why shouldn't we be wrong, too?" Rodger let out a short nod and looked away. Quietly, Edilio said, "But I'm not going anywhere as long as you don't go anywhere, okay?" He shifted Rodger's body so he could look at the boy, brown eyes on the other boy. "Okay?"

Rodger nodded again, this time more vigorously, and Edilio kissed him softly. Rodger eagerly met his lips, automatically knotting his thin, artists-hands in Edilio's unruly hair, pulling at it as if he expected it to come off in his hands, as if it were offending. Edilio, likewise, was shifting Rodger's hips in his hands, grasping at his back, at his spine, at his shoulders, his neck.

Wandering hands, Rodger called it. Edilio laughed at that, causing Rodger to pull away from him, a confused look on his boyish face. "What? What did I do?"

Edilio shook his head and waited for his chuckling to subside. "Wandering hands," he invested. Rodger's mouth formed a laughing 'O' and he relaxed in Edilio's arms. After a moment, Rodger yawned. Taking this in, Edilio made a decision regretfully. "Babe?"he asked.

"Mmm?" Rodger replied, pulling himself up to peck Edilio's lips again.

"Why don't we go to sleep again. I was enjoying holding you."

"Mkay, 'Dilio, we can do that," came Rodger's response as he turned, once again, on his side, this time towards Edilio. Edilio smiled down at the boy, perplexed as to how he could go from a ravishing kiss to being asleep in ten seconds flat. He shook his head as if to remove the thoughts, the questions from his mind. He slipped his tanned arm around Rodger's waist, as had become their casual custom, and rested his head so near Rodger's that he could feel his breath against his face.

As if they were ribbons being cut, drifting forgotten into the wind, he felt his thoughts of consciousness bleed into blackness, thinking that maybe he would stay warm with Rodger by his side, for once.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Oh, God. I just finished-and when I say ****_just,_**** I mean I just-finished Light. The feels were killing me, and I had to write it. Especially because Rodilio. Oh, I should mention: SPOILERS.**

Sleep had become a delicacy. Before, oh, before, he'd had trouble with it, a constant battle between his subconscious and the rest of himself, but now, without a warm, protective arm around him, a restful hour was an improvement from the omnipresent knowledge that Edilio was, most likely, dead. It made no difference that the barrier was down; it was still nearly impossible not to collapse onto the mercifully soft dirt and die.

And how long, how long would he be waiting for a rescuer to find him? And then? How long for the fat to accumulate onto his bones, under the layer of skin that was just barely covering him, how long to banish the malnourishment that ravaged him? How long to get over the fact that he'd failed Justin, failed one of the two people he cared about in the FAYZ? How long to move past what had happened to him, had happened to all of the children that had suffered the fate of being trapped in the now non-existent hell-on-earth—though, after a year of ruthless, violent 'life', were any of them ever to be called children again?

As Roger collected his strength to crawl another foot or two, he allowed himself to think about Edilio. What had happened to him? Had he died fighting? No, not his Edilio, not his pacifistic, kind Edilio. Not his Edilio. Couldn't be his Edilio. Maybe he'd been caught in the crossfire, a killing beam like Sam's cutting through him and ending another life as if he were a plant and Gaia's lust for death a gardener's sheers.

A folded, rough piece of himself wondered, hoped, lived to think that Edilio was alive. That same piece had a voice, a taunting thing whispering in his head, _If he was alive, wouldn't he be looking for you?_ and _If he really loved you, he wouldn't have left you, he wouldn't have let you to die. He wouldn't have believed you to be dead, he'd have found you. _Roger thought, if he had any water left in him, he might have felt tears run down his face. Instead, his body turned on itself and let out wracking, dry sobs, too tired to contain them, too hungry and tired and thirsty to care about moving anymore.

If Edilio was dead, and Justin was dead, what did he have to live for anymore? His family didn't know him any longer. He was kind to the residents of the FAYZ, but he wasn't sure they were really his friends. Sam was like a celebrity; he was unapproachable. A sour mix between a laugh and a cry ripped through him at that. Hadn't Edilio been unapproachable? And look at them now. Look at what had come of it. Only pain. Only wondering and hurt and horrid pain.

But, oh, what he wouldn't give to be held by his boyfriend before his eyes slipped shut just one more time.

What he wouldn't give to have those lips on his as he slipped into unconsciousness, into death.

And, with or without Edilio, Roger did just that.

When Roger woke, his evident life was confirmed by the pain he felt, the pain that was everywhere. The smell, recalled from a distance place, a different time, to be compared to this one, here and now, spoke of medicine and sanitation and something that was a little earthy and dry. He heard voices and the staged laughter that could only be from a television—

A television. His too-heavy eyelids flew open, only to be slammed back shut; the artificial light of the hospital room was too bright, too bright for his dark-conditioned eyes. Just how long had they been closed?

He felt his face scrunch in discomfort. Funny, he thought, how you think everything hurts until pain finds its way into you somewhere else.

He tried to look out again, this time more slowly, letting his eyes adjust. The first thing he saw, a glowing box in the otherwise dark room—was the only light really just the TV? It felt so much brighter than he remembered—showed a rather disgustingly horrible soap opera that featured an obviously American actress speaking in an embarrassing interpretation of a British accent.

The next thing he saw, contrary to what he imagined he would see, was a sleeping boy with a face that he remembered to be marred with war and decision. Of course, he'd already discovered how Edilio transformed when he slept.

Roger's breath quickened as he drank his boyfriend in. The clothes he wore were not torn, not stained. They were freshly washed and he was pleasantly surprised to find that the earthy scent he'd smelled before had been Edilio. _Edilio is alive after all, _Roger thought excitedly. _Edilio is _alive.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Roger wasn't sure, the beautiful, exotic, previously-slumbering boy had awakened. His eyes blinked in confusion for a moment as he took in Roger's state.

It didn't take more than a moment for Edilio to be on top of Roger, in Roger's hair, under Roger's hospital gown, in Roger's mouth, slurring, "Oh, fuck, Roger," 's and "God, I missed you," 's. When he'd settled down enough, he sat beside Roger and held him in his arms. It was only then Roger spoke.

"Edilio?"

"Yes, _amor?_" Edilio stroked Roger's matted hair.

"I'm sorry."

Edilio's soft chuckle filled the room. "You've nothing to be sorry for. And we're safe now, okay? We're safe. And you're not leaving me again."


End file.
